Key takeaways: Ben Horowitz on Lenny's Podcast

Success is a series of small good decisions.

One decision leads to another. If you can psychologically take the sunk cost, that gets you out of a lot of bad paths. A little good decision may be difficult, but you have to believe it’s going to lead to the next one.

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If everybody agrees with the decision, then you didn’t add any value, because they would have done that without you. So the only value you ever add is when you make a decision that most people don’t like.

You decide how to perceive negative events

The things you perceive as happening to you, the system against you, someone undercutting you, racism, sexism, mean a lot if you believe them.

If you believe what people say about you, or what they did to you, it destroys you. But if you say “that’s not me”, you can overcome almost anything. More than anything, that’s the key to success.

Listen to the episode on Lenny’s Podcast⁠.